Cao Youqiang, the director of Qingdao Municipal Forestry Bureau, has disclosed to local media that Qingdao will work to become a model Chinese city by adding more green plants at sites such as crossroads, buildings, and building terraces to increase the level of negative ions for the city as a whole.
Cao said that the city would publish the negative ion levels at scenic spots this year in the hope of increasing the public's awareness of the environment and as a way of using the negative ion index to promote tourism. Negative ions are sometimes compared to vitamins as one of the important elements in maintaining health and, at the correct levels, promoting a feeling of well-being.
It is understood that Qingdao will start to publish the negative ion levels at scenic spots in May 2009.
